European software provider Gurtam has joined the IoT M2M Council (IMC) as a sustaining member to find broader markets for its Wialon IoT platform that connects remote devices installed on vehicles and stationary objects.

The company is well known in fleet management and similar GPS markets, but is now deploying its Wialon platform into applications such as agribusiness and field services.

With 25,000 rank-and-file members, the IMC is the largest community of qualified enterprise users, manufacturers and apps developers that buy IoT products and services.

“When we started developing the Wialon platform, the phrase IoT didn’t exist,” said Aliaksandr Kuushynau, head of Gurtam’s Wialon, who will sit on the IMC’s board of governors. “Today, we’ve got 2.9 million vehicles connected and channel-partner relationships with over 600 hardware makers. We’re looking to deploy Wialon and our developer platform – called Flespi, a set of back-end tools to develop telematics– into new markets globally using machine learning and business intelligence to create specific applications. We see the IMC as a perfect platform to do that.”

The IMC’s rank-and-file adopter membership represents 29 different vertical markets – from automotive manufacturing to precision agriculture to retail point-of-sale to healthcare services – and roughly 35% are based in North America, with over 20% each in Europe and Asia, and the rest dispersed. Companies represented on the trade group’s board include Microsoft, Quectel, Tata Communications and Vodafone, in addition to smaller, influential providers of IoT products and services. In reaching IoT buyers, the IMC has become the de facto standard for online events in the IoT industry and is the exclusive IoT partner for the massive Consumer Electronics Show.

“We welcome Gurtam to the IMC board and hope to learn more from their expertise in vehicle tracking while we help them extend into new markets worldwide,” said Keith Kreisher, executive director of the IMC. “The company adds to our strengths among IoT platform providers.”

The IMC is the largest trade group dedicated to the global IoT and M2M sector with more than 25,000 IoT enterprise users, product makers, designers and apps developers that buy IoT products and services as members. Board companies include Aeris, AVSystem, BeamLive, BICS, Blues Wireless, Digi International, FloLive, Gurtam, iBasis, Incognito, Ignion, IoT Launch, Keyfactor, KORE, Losant, Microsoft Azure IoT, MultiTech, Airgain company NimbeLink, Novotech, Arm company Pelion, Pod Group, Quectel, Software AG, Somos, Taoglas, Tata Communications, Telit and Vodafone.